A conventional method for a user of a Wi-Fi enabled portable device to authenticate the device with a network Access Point (AP) involves the user selecting a wireless network name (SSID—Service Set Identifier) of the wireless network that the user wants to connect and manually entering a pre-shared key (PSK). Once authenticated, the portable device retains the Wi-Fi network credentials so that it can automatically connect to the AP whenever the portable device and the AP are within communication range.
However, this conventional approach has several disadvantages. For instance, network credentials can be shared with others without permission, AP network configurations are often not frequently changed to safeguard against unauthorized network access, changing network credential may be challenging for a typical user, and multiple APs can broadcast the same network details causing devices to connect to incorrect or rogue Wi-Fi networks.